Here to Stay
by Risa McDohl
Summary: The clock is ticking, and the time for Yusuke's wedding draws near, yet ironically he's kept awake with thoughts of his wife to be. YusukexKeiko. Oneshot.


**Title:** Here to Stay

**Author:** Risa

**Pairings:** Yusuke/Keiko

**Rated:** K+

**Disclaimer:** YYH is Togashi's.

**Word Count:** ~2,100

**Summary:** The clock is ticking, and the time for Yusuke's wedding draws near, yet ironically he's kept awake with thoughts of his wife to be.

**A/N:** This was written for japanimecrazed for the live journal charity comm help_haiti.

Sometimes Yusuke didn't know why he chose to deal with the same old crap. He supposed it was the price he had to pay, given that he couldn't stand to keep away from the human world too long. Sure, he had to take it easy with the ass kicking, and yeah, the video games in the arcade still pissed him off (he was out of practice, OK.) Overall, though, it wasn't too bad. Keiko arranged for him to sweep the floor in her dad's restaurant since school just was not an option. He'd never be able to give Keiko a lavish lifestyle with what little he was qualified to do, which led to so many people having to ask "why Yusuke?"

And just what the hell was it to them! The reason she chose him, well. He didn't quite know. He did know that every jerk in the demon world was asking the same question, though. Why give up an opportunity to be a freakin' king for a human?

There was no real rhyme or reason to it. Yusuke did what he did because he felt like it. So he didn't want to boss around a bunch of smelly jerks in the asshole of hell for a couple hundred years, so what? Sure, it was a comfort zone. He knew most of the guys that pissed him off down there wouldn't die if Yusuke so much as flipped them off too hard. He had to stay under the radar, because King Enma didn't want him hanging around the living world, therefore he had to be on his best behavior. It was a boring pain in the ass, but hey, that's the living world for you.

He'd spent much of his night pondering the future, the likes of which hadn't much mattered to him before he'd come back. It didn't take him long to drop the bomb and ask Keiko to marry him, and he meant it this time, too. They mutually decided that there was no one else for them. That's what he liked, it wasn't complicated. When he was around, she was there. When he went off, she waited for him. She didn't have to, and he wouldn't have blamed her if she'd given up. She didn't, though. If she had, he'd probably still stick around and look after her, although his life would have sucked. Good thing things didn't happen that way. He'd tested her patience enough now.

For whatever reason she held on to the belief that he'd be back. He could have just as easily not come back. After all, she had threatened to get a boyfriend and everything. There was also the fact that he was about as far from normal as guys got, being half-demon and all, but no one in her family needed to know that.

Especially since he was going to marry her.

That was interesting. Last he checked the time the wedding was in twelve hours. This was a hell of a time to start losing sleep, though he supposed he could let this one night slide. It was, after all, exactly what he had come back to the living world to do. Married life. Was it going to be cheesy like the crap on TV? Did he want to have to put up with having kids? Knowing Keiko, she'd probably dump them on him, since she'd be the one with the job. Yeah, maybe they wouldn't bother. That was a better idea.

He still couldn't do much more for her than be there, and make sure no one messed with her. Yeah, he could be there. It was more than his dad had ever done for him and his mom, not that Yusuke cared or anything. He could move on from everything about his past that pissed him off. Yeah, easier said than done.

But hey, because of him Keiko had a world to grow up in. He supposed that she saw something in him that she just couldn't let go of. The way he grabbed her ass and made fun of her in front of everyone, yeah, he was a real charmer. She liked it, though, or just liked an excuse to smack him. It was always worth it, and once she was his wife he could grab that ass all he wanted. Pretty soon it would be a great time in his life to be Urameshi Yusuke.

She could've stood to lose the stick up her ass sooner, though. The room was cold, and were she sleeping next to him he'd probably have an easier time dealing with that. He couldn't so much as kiss her and hold her hand until they tied the knot. She probably just didn't want him to get away again. He supposed that was fair enough, but really, he had no intention of leaving her. It was stupid and mushy and not much in his area of expertise, but damn it, he loved her. Love was a pain in the ass, but he did it anyway. He supposed he did get that from Raizen.

That was nice, and he'd managed to drop off to sleep somewhere in the midst of him musings. That was funny, Yusuke thinking. He didn't like putting thought into anything. Thought was for people that went to school and, apparently, people who were getting married. He didn't know how long he'd slept for, but he woke up some time later with a headache that begged for a cigarette. He'd quit years ago, but sometimes there was nothing like a cigarette to make his day more bearable. He probably should have thought of that before laying down, but what's done is done.

It didn't take him long to find the source of his headache. First of all, the sun was pouring into his room, and second of all, Keiko had one knee on his bed, arms crossed, glaring down at him. Shit, he didn't-

"Oh Yusuke, how could you?" she said, just about to uncross her arms and strangle him. This was certainly awkward, and if he had that cigarette he might be able to do more than yawn and stare back at her like a complete moron. "It's an hour until the ceremony, and you're still asleep!

"Kurama and Kuwabara were already in here, but you just wouldn't get up! Did you forget what day it is today? What's the matter with you? I swear, Yusuke, sometimes you-you... "

Yusuke took her by the wrist, pulled her down toward him, and wrapped his arms around her. It shut her up, that was good. Also, she was warm, and she smelled nice. Did he really have to get up? He supposed he should, considering that he had to marry her. One hour, huh? The way she was glaring at him he'd almost thought that he had missed it. That was a relief.

"Don't sweat it," said Yusuke with another yawn. "I can be ready in like five minutes. All we have to do is go down stairs."

"Honestly, don't you care about this at all?" said Keiko, trying to wriggle her way out of Yusuke's embrace. No, he had only kept himself awake at night thinking about it, but he supposed it wouldn't do him any good to have a hand-shaped swelling on his cheek during the ceremony, so he refrained from teasing her, or rubbing her ass. He just wanted to hold her for a little bit, convince himself that this was real.

"If I didn't care then I wouldn't be here."

Yusuke smiled up at her, not quite sure what else she expected of him. He hadn't brushed his teeth yet. Heck, he hadn't even showered yet. Maybe he could do all of that in five minutes, but then he couldn't do anything with his hair, and he wouldn't be able to hang out with his pals as a single man one last time. Not that it meant much. He was Keiko's well before any of them became friends, and yet marriage was different somehow. It actually felt like something genuinely significant was going to happen to him since the day he had come back from the dead. He supposed it was time to get something right.

"I know," she said, and she gave him a kiss anyway. That must have been foul, but she's seen him and loved him in uglier states than freshly awoken. Something about this relationship could work out. "But now that you're here you have to promise me something."

"I'm all ears," said Yusuke, looking up at her. She didn't seem too sure of herself, and this would be one hell of a crappy time for her to be having second thoughts about this. Even so, he braced himself for the worst.

"Promise me you won't leave again." A tear rolled down her cheek, and suddenly every bit of crap inside of Yusuke seemed to melt. Any kind of stupid retort Yusuke may have had crumbled and blew away. He hoped she didn't think him enough of a jerk to leave her now, after all that they had been through, but he supposed there was no helping it. What stupid thing hadn't he done to drive Keiko away? It was nothing short of a miracle that he had her now. There was no need to be loafing around in bed like a lazy moron.

"You got it," said Yusuke, pulling her head down beside his. The last thing he wanted to see was his bride cry on their wedding day. That was just the mark of marrying a complete jerk right there. "And now that you've got that out of your system, promise me something."

"Mmm." For the first time since he'd woken up she seemed relaxed, which made his life easier. He had to admit, he didn't feel so great after seeing her cry like that. He was a regular sap for her these days, he supposed, not that it was news or anything.

"Don't sweat this too much, Keiko. I told you that I want to marry you and I meant it." He started to stroke her hair, something he normally wouldn't think to do, but if it got her to stop the water works faster then today would be a breeze. "I mean, OK, I'm a jerk, I slept in, go ahead and hit me if it'll make you feel better.

"But, ah, damn it. You know I love you. Don't let that slip your mind, OK?"

"Oh Yusuke," said Keiko, and when she lifted her head she was no longer in tears. Apparently he had said the right thing, another thing that was uncharacteristic. He supposed that's what he got for falling in love. At least he only had to be this much of a loser for her. "How can you manage to be the world's sweetest guy and biggest jerk at the same time?"

"Because you were stupid enough to fall in love with me," he said, scratching his chin and grinning. "Now get off, I have to get ready."

"You're impossible," said Keiko, obviously tempted to slap him. She must have been in a better mood than she let on, because rather than doing that she just kissed him again. Thanks to that he wouldn't be needing that cigarette after all, but he still needed to brush his teeth. "I'll be waiting. Don't be late."

"No problem." He gave her a thumbs up and crawled out of his bed. This was the first day of the rest of his life as a married man. He supposed if she put up with his bad breath and bullshit, she could put up with just about anything. Keiko was good like that.

The only problem now was that he had spent most of the hour he had cuddling with Keiko. He'd have a heck of a time getting ready, but she was worth it. She was worth everything, and he didn't care how corny that sounded. It was true.

END


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